Taking the Top Sport | How To Earn More Featured Snippets by Rob Bucci of Stat Search Analytics

1. TAKING THE TOP SPOT
How to earn more featured snippets

2. @STATrob
#StateOfSearch

3. Featured snippets are a super interesting phenomenon.

4. KEY FEATURES OF OUR RESEARCH
KEYWORDS 1,000,000
CPC RANGE $9.55 – $1,006.56
SEARCH VOL. RANGE 10 – 2,740,000 average searches
DEVICE Desktop & Mobile
MARKET United States, English (Google.com)

5. WE’RE SEEING MORE SNIPPETS THAN EVER
%ofSERPswithsnippets
0%
6.25%
12.5%
18.75%
25%
15%
9%
January (Desktop) July (Desktop)

6. MOBILE VS. DESKTOP
%ofSERPswithsnippets
0%
6.25%
12.5%
18.75%
25%
15%
17%
July (Mobile) July (Desktop)

7. AND THEY’RE WORTH MORE THAN EVER
TotalCPC
$0
$1,000,000
$2,000,000
$3,000,000
$4,000,000
$3,087,960
$1,750,392
January July

8. SNIPPET TYPES
@STATrob

9. This is a “paragraph” snippet.

10. This is a “table” snippet.

11. This is a “list” snippet.

12. HOW OFTEN DID WE SEE EACH
SNIPPET TYPE?
Paragraphs
Lists
Tables
16%
19%
63%
7%
10%
81%
January (Desktop)
July (Desktop)

13. HOW OFTEN DID WE SEE EACH
SNIPPET TYPE? MOBILE VS. DESKTOP
Paragraphs
Lists
Tables
16%
19%
63%
17%
20%
64%
July (Mobile)
July (Desktop)

14. THE FORMAT OF YOUR CONTENT
DETERMINES THE FORMAT OF
THE FEATURED SNIPPET.
@STATrob

15. WHICH FEATURED SNIPPETS HAVE IMAGES?
Paragraphs
Lists
Tables
4%
6%
20%
18%
26%
28%
January (Desktop)
July (Desktop)

16. WHICH FEATURED SNIPPETS HAVE IMAGES?
MOBILE VS. DESKTOP
Paragraphs
Lists
Tables
4%
6%
20%
2%
4%
13%
July (Mobile)
July (Desktop)

17. WIKIPEDIA OWNS 15% OF ALL
SNIPPETS WITH IMAGES
Images are in 36% of Wikipedia’s featured snippets.
@STATrob

18. UNIVERSAL RESULTS
@STATrob

19. HOW OFTEN DID WE SEE
UNIVERSAL RESULTS?
Places
Video
Images
News
Shopping 1%
3%
13%
11%
13%
2%
3%
20%
11%
13%
January (Desktop)
July (Desktop)

20. HOW OFTEN DID WE SEE
UNIVERSAL RESULTS? MOBILE VS. DESKTOP
Places
Video
Images
News
Shopping 1%
3%
13%
11%
13%
3%
7%
7%
18%
38%
July (Mobile)
July (Desktop)

21. HOW OFTEN DID THOSE RESULTS APPEAR WITH
FEATURED SNIPPETS?
Places
Video
Images
News
Shopping 1%
4%
10%
12%
0%
1%
5%
11%
14%
0%
January (Desktop)
July (Desktop)

22. HOW OFTEN DID THOSE RESULTS APPEAR WITH
FEATURED SNIPPETS? MOBILE VS. DESKTOP
Places
Video
Images
News
Shopping 1%
4%
10%
12%
0%
2%
10%
3%
19%
0%
July (Mobile)
July (Desktop)

23. TWEETABLE TIP
PLACES PACKS NEVER OCCUR
ALONGSIDE FEATURED SNIPPETS.
Local SEOs don’t get to play. Sorry. :(
@STATrob

24. PEOPLE ALSO ASK
@STATrob

25. HOW OFTEN DOES PEOPLE ALSO ASK APPEAR
WITH SNIPPETS?
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
44%
22%
January (Desktop) July (Desktop)

26. HOW OFTEN DOES PEOPLE ALSO ASK APPEAR
WITH SNIPPETS? MOBILE VS. DESKTOP
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
44%43%
July (Mobile) July (Desktop)

27. HOW OFTEN ARE SNIPPETS ALSO THE FIRST
PAA ANSWER?
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
5%
24%
January (Desktop) July (Desktop)

28. HOW OFTEN ARE SNIPPETS ALSO THE FIRST
PAA ANSWER? MOBILE VS. DESKTOP
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
5%
0%
July (Mobile) July (Desktop)

29. TWEETABLE TIP
LET PEOPLE ALSO ASK BOXES
INSPIRE YOUR OWN FEATURED
SNIPPET CONTENT.
Google is telling you what answers they like
for similar queries.
@STATrob

30. KEYWORDS MATTER
@STATrob

31. BE CAREFUL ABOUT IMPLIED QUESTIONS
QUERY SNIPPET
what is a mctwist? TRUE
mctwist TRUE
how do I build a roof? TRUE
build a roof FALSE

32. TWEETABLE TIP
PAY ATTENTION TO KEYWORD
VARIANTS. SNIPPETS ONLY
APPEAR FOR SOME.
Your research just got harder. Sorry!
@STATrob

33. COMMON SNIPPET QUERY TYPES
QUERY TYPE JANUARY (Desktop) JULY (Desktop) CHANGE
FINANCIAL 46% 54% 20%
MATHEMATIC 52% 56% 8%
REQUIREMENTS 56% 56% 0%
HEALTH 44% 52% 19%
DIY/PROCESS 50% 58% 16%

34. COMMON SNIPPET QUERY TYPES
QUERY TYPE JULY (Mobile) JULY (Desktop)
FINANCIAL 54% 54%
MATHEMATIC 53% 56%
REQUIREMENTS 49% 56%
HEALTH 30% 52%
DIY/PROCESS 31% 58%

35. UNCOMMON SNIPPET QUERY TYPES
QUERY TYPE JANUARY (Desktop) JULY (Desktop) CHANGE
LOCAL 0.71% 1.84% 159%
SUBJECTIVE 0.41% 18.14% 4280%
INFO/HELP 1.23% 4.64% 277%
FACTUAL 0.99% 6.63% 570%
SHOPPING 1.28% 6.46% 226%

36. UNCOMMON SNIPPET QUERY TYPES
QUERY TYPE JULY (Mobile) JULY (Desktop)
LOCAL 5.15% 1.84%
SUBJECTIVE 11.84% 18.14%
INFO/HELP 11.65% 4.64%
FACTUAL 5.64% 6.63%
SHOPPING 8.71% 6.46%

37. TWEETABLE TIP
REVIEWS AND OPINION BASED
CONTENT CAN NOW SNAG
SNIPPETS. GO AND GET ‘EM!
@STATrob

38. SNIPPET FREQUENCY FOR “FINANCE” WORDS
salary
cost
refinancing
taxes
fees 58%
58%
46%
59%
68%
40%
36%
43%
57%
77%
January (Desktop)
July (Desktop)

39. SNIPPET FREQUENCY FOR “FINANCE” WORDS.
MOBILE VS. DESKTOP
salary
cost
refinancing
taxes
fees 58%
58%
46%
59%
68%
67%
59%
53%
67%
80%
July (Mobile)
July (Desktop)

40. SNIPPET FORMATS
VS. QUERY TYPES
@STATrob

41. THE BEST INSIGHTS ARE IN THE
INTERSECTIONS OF THE DATA.
We can make some assumptions about the content
formats we should be using for different queries.
@STATrob

42. DESKTOP SNIPPET FORMAT FOR
“FINANCE” WORDS
salary
tuition
fees
33%
66%
58%
13%
1%
0%
53%
33%
42%
Paragraph
List
Table

43. MOBILE SNIPPET FORMAT FOR
“FINANCE” WORDS
salary
tuition
fees
32%
58%
52%
13%
1%
0%
55%
41%
48%
Paragraph
List
Table

44. DESKTOP SNIPPET FORMAT FOR
“SUBJECTIVE” WORDS
rankings
review
comparison
64%
87%
79%
11%
2%
20%
25%
10%
1%
Paragraph
List
Table

45. MOBILE SNIPPET FORMAT FOR
“SUBJECTIVE” WORDS
rankings
review
comparison
56%
72%
72%
14%
3%
27%
30%
26%
1%
Paragraph
List
Table

46. DESKTOP SNIPPET FORMAT FOR
“INFO/HELP” WORDS
course
programs
storage
8%
56%
56%
18%
25%
9%
74%
20%
35%
Paragraph
List
Table

47. MOBILE SNIPPET FORMAT FOR
“INFO/HELP” WORDS
course
programs
storage
12%
54%
49%
22%
27%
18%
66%
19%
33%
Paragraph
List
Table

48. [course requirements for physical therapy]

49. [texas approved driver safety course]

50. [medical school course requirements]

51. THIS IS A WEAK SNIPPET.
It’s evident that Google prefers tables in this query
space, so optimize your content with tables.
@STATrob

52. 29% OF SNIPPETS ARE TABLES.
Google is using them for a reason. They’re good UX for
certain queries. Use this to your advantage.
@STATrob

53. [main insurance companies]

54. [RN salary los angeles]

55. [best miles reward credit card]

56. [online nursing schools]

57. [online accredited christian colleges]

58. There’s data missing from the snippet, and they’re using <div>!

59. THIS IS A WEAK SNIPPET.
Put this data in a table so that Google can extract it
with confidence, and you’ll take it from them.
@STATrob

60. TWEETABLE TIP
YOU CAN STEAL WEAK SNIPPETS.
USE THE FORMAT GOOGLE REALLY
WANTS TO SEE FOR A QUERY.
@STATrob

61. WHAT ABOUT THE
OTHER SNIPPET TYPES?
@STATrob

62. DESKTOP SNIPPET FORMAT FOR
“GENERAL QUESTION” WORDS
does
what
how
2%
6%
3%
42%
4%
0%
56%
90%
96%
Paragraph
List
Table

63. MOBILE SNIPPET FORMAT FOR
“GENERAL QUESTION” WORDS
does
what
how
1%
6%
3%
43%
4%
0%
55%
89%
97%
Paragraph
List
Table

64. THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF “HOW” QUERIES
HOW QUESTION SNIPPET TYPE
how do I poach an egg? list
how does evaporation work? paragraph
how do I wax a car? list
how do frogs croak? paragraph

65. TWEETABLE TIP
RESEARCH THE FEATURED
SNIPPETS IN EACH QUERY SPACE &
FORMAT YOUR CONTENT TO MATCH.
@STATrob

66. I SENSE A GOLD
RUSH COMING.
@STATrob

67. [online nursing schools] in USA (Google.com)

68. [online nursing schools] in Canada (Google.ca)

69. TWEETABLE TIP
LOOK FOR MISSING FEATURED
SNIPPETS IN OTHER MARKETS.
Create geographically relevant content to target them.
@STATrob

70. WRAPPING IT UP
@STATrob

71. FEATURED SNIPPETS
AREN’T GOING ANYWHERE.
They’re a corner-stone of Google’s strategy
for mobile and voice search.
@STATrob

72. TWEETABLE TIP 1
YOU HAVE TO USE A TOOL TO
TRACK FEATURED SNIPPETS.
@STATrob

73. TWEETABLE TIP 2
PLACES PACKS NEVER OCCUR
ALONGSIDE FEATURED SNIPPETS.
Local SEOs don’t get to play. Sorry. :(
@STATrob

74. TWEETABLE TIP 3
LET PEOPLE ALSO ASK BOXES
INSPIRE YOUR OWN FEATURED
SNIPPET CONTENT.
Google is telling you what answers they like
for similar queries.
@STATrob

75. TWEETABLE TIP 4
PAY ATTENTION TO KEYWORD
VARIANTS. SNIPPETS ONLY
APPEAR FOR SOME.
Your research just got harder. Sorry!
@STATrob

76. TWEETABLE TIP 5
REVIEWS AND OPINION BASED
CONTENT CAN NOW SNAG
SNIPPETS. GO AND GET ‘EM!
@STATrob

77. TWEETABLE TIP 6
YOU CAN STEAL WEAK SNIPPETS.
USE THE FORMAT GOOGLE REALLY
WANTS TO SEE FOR A QUERY.
@STATrob

78. TWEETABLE TIP 7
RESEARCH THE FEATURED
SNIPPETS IN EACH QUERY SPACE &
FORMAT YOUR CONTENT TO MATCH.
@STATrob

79. TWEETABLE TIP 8
LOOK FOR MISSING FEATURED
SNIPPETS IN OTHER MARKETS.
Create geographically relevant content to target them.
@STATrob

80. Download the whitepaper, data set, and slides at getSTAT.com/stateofsearch